“No matlab No” - No means no

Gender Equality starts with you - Leave No One Behind: End Violence against Women and Girls. From 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day, the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign is a time to motivate for action to end violence against women and girls around the world.

The Norwegian Embassy in Delhi is contributing to 16 days of activism through its project partnership with UN Women India. UN Women has launched a one-month campaign branding four trains of the Delhi Metro with messages for elimination of violence against women. Messages such as ‘Leaving No-One Behind: #MySafeDelhi', “Gender Equality starts with You”, “Break the silence” and “No matlab No” (no means no) is meant to draw attention to gender-based violence worldwide, as well as the importance of making workplaces, public spaces and homes violence free. The messaging is in both Hindi and English. The outreach capacity of the Delhi metro has also been utilised to start a twitter campaign, asking commuters for suggestions for making public spaces free from violence: "How can public spaces, work spaces, and homes be free from violence? – Share your suggestions with #MySafeDelhi”.

Delhi Metro

This year’s theme “Leave No One Behind: End Violence against Women and Girls” focuses on one of the essential principles of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, emphasising on the world’s attempt to “reach the furthest behind first”. In recent years, the campaign has utilized the colour orange as a unifying theme running through all of its global activities. Orange is meant to be a symbol for a brighter future, free from violence against women and girls.

The international campaign originated from the first Women's Global Leadership Institute coordinated by the Center for Women's Global Leadership in 1991. Since then, it has continued to grow worldwide, including in Norway and India. The Norwegian Minister for Foreign Affairs also spoke about the issue in this video.